Michigan State UniversitySchool of Criminal JusticeUnited States of America

Date Published:

1999

Page Count:

191

Annotation:

In response to an increasing problem of youth violence, the Wayne
County Office on Violence Reduction (Michigan), in conjunction
with the Detroit Public Schools, piloted a conflict resolution
program in several Detroit middle schools; this report describes
the program and its evaluation design and findings.

Abstract:

The training consisted of 10 1-hour sessions designed to provide
students with information on the risks of violence and homicide,
to teach various alternatives to violence, and to create a
classroom and school environment that is nonviolent. The program
was first implemented in the two selected middle schools in the
spring of 1994. The 10-week sessions were also conducted with
different students in the fall of 1994 and spring of 1995. The
purpose of the evaluation was to assess the effects of the
conflict resolution program on variables associated with violence
(attitudes toward fighting, attitudes toward school, perceptions
of school safety, self-efficacy, self-reported delinquency,
observed delinquency, and victimization). The evaluation also
focused on the ability of the training to affect participants'
social competence, self-efficacy, and expectations of the outcome
of competent behavior. The evaluation measured group differences
between program participants and nonparticipants; approximately
50 students from each school were randomly chosen to be
interviewed at the end of the first and second school year of
program implementation. To measure school-wide programmatic
effects on school climate and students' attitudes, surveys were
distributed to all middle school students prior to the initial
training session, at the end of the first school year of program
implementation, and at the end of the second school year of
program implementation. Although the evaluation findings did not
show that the training produced the intended results, several
recommendations emerged from the evaluation research. These
recommendations are programmatic, school-based, and
research-related. 63 tables, 2 figures, 65 references, and
appended curriculum, survey instruments, and conflict scenarios
coding manuals

* A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents
not available online, a link to the publisher's web site is provided.

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